Our Research Advisory Committee offering expertise and passion

The Kids’ Cancer Project works together with the community to raise funds while always focused on the end goal of helping children with cancer.

We also seek expertise to guide our research investment via a passionate and dedicated Research Advisory Committee (RAC) comprising of clinicians and researchers from Australia and the United States.

The RAC convened over two days in June and reviewed more than sixty grant applications, resulting in recommending twenty six projects for the Board to financially invest in throughout 2016-17.

Dr David Ziegler, incoming Chair of the Committee has one simple motivation in leading the Committee.

“As the new Chair my focus will always be to benefit our patients. I want to help The Kids’ Cancer Project help these patients, by conducting the highest quality research, supporting ground breaking clinical trials, to helping the scientists, doctors, nurses and allied health professionals on the frontline, as they work every day to help improve outcomes for our patients,” said Dr Ziegler.

International collaboration also provides context and a global perspective.

Dr Brenda Weigel joined the RAC this year from the Masonic Cancer Centre, University of Minnesota, USA .

“The benefits of having an external and international Research Advisory Committee are many fold: the reviewers provide local context for the work and are able to also place it within a global context; collaborative relationships can be leveraged and strengthened and it allows for perspective for the Australian resources to be maximized locally within the context of efforts in the US and internationally”, said Brenda.

“Paediatric cancer is one of the very few fields where systematic research over several decades has moved us from a time when childhood cancer was almost incurable to one where approximately 80% of children survive.

“Unfortunately that survival is at a cost and we certainly have a long way to go in many of the cancers to cure all children using therapies that minimise short and long term side effects.

The opportunity to be a small part of the international effort to improve the lives of children with cancer and to have the opportunity to work with these amazing children and families every day is truly motivating,” concluded Dr Weigel.